Rep. Beth Van Duyne Announces House Ways and Means Committee Passed Two of her Bills to Combat Fraud and Protect Americans

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Representative Beth Van Duyne (R-TX-24) announced two bills, H.R. 8883, the Protecting Seniors and Stopping Fraudsters Act, and H.R. 8873, the Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in Banks Act, have been passed by the House Committee on Ways and Means with bipartisan support. Working with Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO-08), Rep. Van Duyne successfully moved both bills through committee to now be offered for consideration by the House.

The Protecting Seniors and Stopping Fraudsters Act

"Today's bipartisan committee passage of the Protecting Seniors and Stopping Fraudsters Act sends a clear message that Congress will not tolerate fraudsters exploiting vulnerable seniors and abusing the Medicare hospice benefit," said Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne (TX-24). "After years of oversight, investigations, and bipartisan work alongside providers, watchdogs, and CMS, we are finally taking meaningful steps to strengthen oversight, protect patients and taxpayers, and stop bad actors before they can exploit the system. I appreciate my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who supported this legislation and helped move this critical effort forward."

"Americans pay into Medicare their entire working lives with the expectation that those earned benefits will be there for them when they need them most," said Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08). "Instead, criminals and foreign fraudsters have exploited Medicare's hospice and home health benefits to steal tax dollars and prey on seniors and their families, including those who truly need end-of-life care. Representative Van Duyne has been leading the charge on rooting out this fraud from our system, and her Protecting Seniors and Stopping Fraudsters Act strengthens oversight of the hospice program, closes loopholes that have allowed fraud to run rampant, and helps preserve the Medicare benefits seniors have earned."

H.R. 8883, the Protecting Seniors and Stopping Fraudsters Act, is supported by the National Alliance for Care at Home (NACH), the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI), the HealthCare Chaplaincy Network (HCCN), LeadingAge, Addus Homecare, the Texas Association for Home Care & Hospice (TAHC&H), Stanford Children's Health (SWHPN), and the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBEC).

Click HERE to read the full bill text.

Click HERE to read letters of support.

Click HERE to watch Rep. Van Duyne's opening statement in the Ways and Means Committee Markup.

Background:

• In February 2023, a bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Rep. Van Duyne and Rep. Blumenauer sent a letter to the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure expressing their concern about fraud and abuse within the hospice benefit and requesting a briefing on CMS's hospice-related oversight activities as well as any gaps in oversight tools.
• In March 2023 at a Ways and Means Committee hearing, Rep. Van Duyne questioned the then-Secretary for Health and Human Services (HHS), Xavier Becerra, on his agency's failure to conduct proper oversight of the hospice benefit.
• In June 2023, Rep. Van Duyne and a bipartisan group of lawmakers sent a letter to HHS Inspector General Christi Grimm about newly certified hospices that engaged in unlawful, unethical practices, resulting in alarming reports of fraud & abuse that threatened both patient safety and fiscal responsibility.
• In March 2024, Rep. Van Duyne questioned then-HHS Secretary Becerra again on his failure to address fraudulent hospice schemes that defrauded taxpayers out of millions of dollars.
• In May 2024, Rep. Van Duyne and Rep. Blumenauer led a bipartisan group of 38 lawmakers demanding answers from CMS on the implementation of recent reforms aimed at combating hospice fraud and abuse.
• In June 2024, Rep. Van Duyne was recognized with the Hospice Action Network Angel Award from the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization for her work to combat fraud and abuse in our hospice programs.
• In November 2024, Rep. Van Duyne introduced the Enhancing Hospice Oversight and Transparency Act, bipartisan legislation to restore integrity in the hospice benefit.
• May 2026, CMS announces the suspension of approximately 800 hospice service providers citing massive, suspected Medicare fraud.

The Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in Banks Act

"Every dollar stolen through unemployment fraud is a dollar that never reached Americans who truly needed help," said Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne (TX-24). "With hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars still tied up in pandemic unemployment fraud, Congress cannot afford to wait. The Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in Banks Act provides the coordination and accountability needed to reclaim these forgotten funds, return them to taxpayers, and ensure fraudsters are held accountable before these dollars become even harder to recover."

"Upwards of $135 billion in unemployment insurance benefits is estimated to have been lost to fraud and improper payments during the COVID pandemic," said Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08). "One billion dollars is sitting frozen in banks across the country and could be recovered if decisive Congressional action is taken. I commend Representative Van Duyne for her steadfast commitment to cracking down on fraud. Her leadership is evident through the Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in Banks Act to hold states and financial institutions accountable to ensure we make the American taxpayer whole and protect important resources for those individuals and families in our communities who need assistance."

H.R. 8873, the Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in Banks Act, is supported by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA), the United Council on Welfare Fraud (UCOWF), the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA), the National Taxpayers Union (NTU), Job Creators Network, Strategic Services on Unemployment & Workers' Compensation (UWC), the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBEC), and the America First Policy Institute (AFPI).

Click HERE for full bill text.

Click HERE to watch Rep. Van Duyne's opening statement in the Ways and Means Committee Markup.

Background

• The Department of Labor Inspector General (DOL-OIG) recently found nearly $1 billion in unspent COVID-19 unemployment insurance (UI) funds frozen and held by financial institutions across the country due to fraud.
• Funds were identified on millions of prepaid debit cards issued by states to distribute supplemental federal UI benefits during the pandemic.
• More than six years after the pandemic, these accounts have been left "forgotten" by state workforce agencies, unreconciled, and in some cases transferred by banks to state unclaimed property due to inactivity, complicating recovery efforts.
• Without Congressional action, hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars may go unrecovered.
• In addition, the statute of limitations for prosecuting pandemic UI fraud began to expire in March of 2025; an extension is needed to provide more time for federal agencies to prosecute fraudsters and recover taxpayer dollars.